SEE HERE, PRIVATE HARGROVE

US, 1944, 90 minutes, Black-and-white.
Robert Walker, Keenan Wynn, Donna Reed, Robert Benchley, Chill Wills.
Directed by Wesley Ruggles.

This is a film of its time, produced during the latter years of World War II, a morale boosting film, highlighting the camaraderie of the American troops in training, in their ordinary lives, in their hopes to go into action, in their patriotism.

The screenplay is based on a book by journalist, Marion Hargrove, who is a torment in his erratic behaviour and timetables to managing editor, Ray Collins, but who was called up, went through all the normal processes, not asking for exceptions, while messing things up continuously in terms of address, lateness, faux pas, and spent a lot of his time on garbage can cleaning. In the meantime, he was writing stories about the training which eventually were published. They are the basis for this film – there was a sequel the next year, What Next, Corporal Hargrove.

On the bus to camp, Hargrove meets two enlistees who were to become his associates, one a supportive friend, the other, played by Keenan Wynn, with an inbuilt nature to hustle and swindled. There is also the corporal, forever taking notes on Hargrove’s mistakes, played by Chill Wills.

Apart from the expected activities and training, and the variety of personnel around the camp, some severe, some sympathetic, there is also a romance with Donna Reed as the focus of Marion’s attention. She is set up by Keenan Wynn and Marion has to pay for an evening with her – to her embarrassment, but to the humorous response of her uncle, played by Grant Mitchell, who urges her to accept – and the beginning of a nice romance.

There is an episode in New York City were Marion goes to try to get a publisher for his book and an enjoyable week in the company of Donna Reed, after spending some time having a conversation with her father, comedian Robert Benchley, who thinks is a good listener but does all the talking.

Keenan Wynn does something of a swindle by getting himself and Hargrove into a desk job writing journalistic reports while the others train to go into battle – with a final confrontation with the two of them trying to move all kinds of mountains so that they get a transfer to go into action. Which they do.

A film which brings the atmosphere, with the light touch, of World War II and American involvement to the screen.